Soldier, caregiver married in storybook wedding

Newlyweds Marty and Tawnee Gonzalez share a moment before their reception at the Grand Palace in Spring.

Newlyweds Marty and Tawnee Gonzalez share a moment before their reception at the Grand Palace in Spring.

Photo: Jerry Baker

Photo: Jerry Baker

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Newlyweds Marty and Tawnee Gonzalez share a moment before their reception at the Grand Palace in Spring.

Newlyweds Marty and Tawnee Gonzalez share a moment before their reception at the Grand Palace in Spring.

Photo: Jerry Baker

Soldier, caregiver married in storybook wedding

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Local nonprofits, businesses and volunteers banded together to ensure a fairy-tale ending to the storybook romance of Tawnee Ive ns and Spring soldier Marty Gonzalez.

The couple met in an airport in Florida. When they both reached for a suitcase in the baggage claim at the same moment, their hands accidentally touched.

"We looked at each other and knew we were in trouble," Ivens recalled.

They then spent a weeklong retreat together. "We were inseparable the whole time we were there," she said.

The retreat, however, was not for couples – it was for injured combat veterans. Ivens came as a volunteer, hoping she could help in some way – whether using her psychology degree to listen to battle stories or just offering to clean and cook.

Gonzalez was there as an injured vet, at risk of losing his arm in amputation and in pain with a broken back that never properly healed. He also suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder.

At the end of the week, he returned home to Spring and she flew home to Oregon with his phone number.

By the end of the year, Ivens had moved to Texas, and plans for a wedding were in the works.

Happily Ever After

Helping A Hero, a non-profit that provides housing for veterans, is building the couple a home in The Woodlands. The organization also volunteered to provide the wedding ceremony.

Ivens worried that she would not be able to provide a proper reception for all the family members and friends planning to attend.

She shared her concerns during a visit with Gonzalez's chiropractor Todd Hatch, who offers free visits for Iraq and Afghan war vets at Sunrise Chiropractic.

When he heard Iven's wedding day worries, Hatch was inspired to take up her cause.

Hatch's staff and patients, as well as his daughter's sorority, offered to help with the decorations. His son's Boy Scout troop lined the driveway to the reception hall at the Grand Palace with 100 American Flags.

Wounded Warrior

Gonzalez had already served in combat and returned home when he volunteered to go to Iraq in September 2004. He requested to go to Fallujah.

He stayed for four months before injuries sent him home. In that time, he earned two Bronze Star Medals with valor, three Purple Hearts and one Navy Marine Corps Achievement Medal with Valor.

He is still in constant pain with his back and has traumatic brain injury from the combat.

Ivens serves as Gonzalez's primary caregiver and said she has heard several stories about his experiences in combat.

"What those guys experience over there, we don't really know," she said. "Marty has been really open with me, and what he's been through is overwhelming."

Ivens believes that Helping A Hero and the Wounded Warriors Volunteer Association are making a difference.

"There's so much that goes on with our vets when they get home, and no one talks about it," Ivens said. "They get their welcome home ceremonies and that's it."

Ivens said some of Gonzalez's friends from combat will be joining them for the occasion. "This is a time they can get together for something happy," she said.

Hatch said his organization seeks to inspire others to help out with the veterans. "If neighbors and family step up to help the vets, hopefully it will motivate others to help," he said.

Hatch personally donates 60 visits a month. There is no paperwork for the vets to fill out and no requirements for them to meet.

"I put together this group as a mechanism to allow people to give back to the vets," Hatch said. "It's become my calling. I just love it."